Photographs of Venice, Italy, tend to show its clear blue canals and architecture such as the Doge's Palace. What they rarely show are the overcrowded streets, the pollution under the water, and the graffiti that says TOURISTS GO HOME. Venice, like so many cities around the world, now has so many visitors that local people are fed up, and the things that first attracted visitors are slowly being destroyed. Should we let go of our love of international travel?
There are now two billion global tourist arrivals per year, and the figure is increasing annually by 6 percent. While going on vacation is not new, this rate of growth certainly is. Travel experts suggest higher tourist numbers can be explained by two key factors: budget airlines and "the Airbnb effect." In the past, air travel was only available to the rich, but today some flights
cost little more than a pair of jeans. And websites such as Airbnb, which allow guests to stay in homes rather than expensive hotels, have only speeded up the trend.
While local people's anger has been widely reported in the media – both Venice and Barcelona, Spain, saw anti-tourism protests on the streets – less is heard about the environmental harm that tourism causes. In Bali, Indonesia, popular beaches are frequently covered in plastic waste, while the Great Barrier Reef, in Australia, has been damaged by diving and snorkeling. And of course, flights are responsible for 12 percent of all carbon emissions.
If it is clear that tourism cannot continue at current levels, what is actually to be done? One solution, which arose naturally as a consequence of COVID-19, is for people to travel mostly in their own countries. Another is to ban cheap flights and homestay websites, but it seems unlikely that 21st century tourists will give up their favorite hobby without a fight.
義大利威尼斯的照片，通常會以清澈湛藍的運河與總督宮等建築為主。但卻鮮少秀出過度擁擠的街道、水面下的汙染、「遊客回家去」的塗鴉等景象。威尼斯與世界各地的許多城市相同，遊客多到讓當地人覺得受夠了，而起初吸引遊客的事物，已逐漸受到摧毀。我們應該要捨棄對國際旅遊的熱愛嗎？
如今每年已有20億人的全球遊客抵達威尼斯，此數字每年還增加6%。雖然度假並非新鮮事，
但是這樣的成長率絕對初次乍見。旅遊專家表示，有兩大因素可解釋遊客人數增加的現象：廉價航空以及短租平台「Airbnb」的效應。過去航空旅遊只是富人的專利，如今某些航班費用只比一件牛仔褲多一點。而短租平台Airbnb等網站，因為能讓房客待在住宅而非昂貴的飯店，也推升了這樣的旅遊趨勢。
雖然媒體大幅報導當地人的怒氣──威尼斯和西班牙的巴塞隆納，均可看到反觀光的街頭抗議遊行──卻很少聽到觀光業有害環境的新聞。印尼峇里島的熱門海灘，經常覆蓋塑膠垃圾。而澳洲的大堡礁，已經因為深潛和浮潛活動而受損。可想而知，航班佔整體碳排放量達12%。
如果目前擺明了，觀光業不能再以現今程度繼續下去，那麼到底該怎麼做？其中一項因為新冠肺炎而自然產生的解決之道，就是在自己的國家內旅遊。另一個方法就是禁止廉價航空與短租民宿的網站。不過要21世紀的遊客在沒有航班的情況下，放棄自己最喜愛的嗜好，似乎很難做得到。
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